I saw this film a little while ago and I was amazed to see that it was made as recently as 2002, and not in the early 1990s as I had assumed. I guess they must have been using vintage camera and computer equipment (an original gameboy?). Perhaps I would have enjoyed it if I was watching it amongst friends in high spirits (that's not a drug euphamism, before anyone suggests so), but my viewing predicament (watching it with someone I don't really like, who had seen it before and was utterly serious that it a piece of quality cinema worth a second sitting) made me view it in a less-than-flattering light. I think the fact that IMDB shows the writer of this film wrote nothing before or since this film speaks volumes.
As for the character of "Russ in the wheelchair", I found the character deeply patronising. I'm a wheelchair user myself, and I know that doesn't make me any more of an authority on the subject than anyone else, but I personally am sick of characterisations such as Russ. It would be interesting to see if a film could be made with a character in a wheelchair where their disability doesn't become a major plot point and there's no ham-fisted attempt to turn them into some kind of positive role model ("oh no, the only person who can save us is cripped, I hope he can overcome his tragic past and bravely struggle to help us!"). Of course it is important that more people respect disabled people and understand issues around disability, but I don't think cinema has suceeded in doing this yet. Rather surprisingly, I feel The Ringer did quite a lot to help the portrayal of disability, actually involving true disabled athletes and actors, and not shying away from finding comedy in the situations and people without being condescendingly "caring" about it (see "Inside I'm Dancing"... or rather, DON'T see it).
Perhaps I'm overly harsh on characterisations such as Russ, and it evidently did do some good to JimmyL5555, but I can't help but feel disappointed at the apparent surprise in his learning that wheelchair users can be intelligent, useful and loveable, when I feel that's something people should already realise, without needing a poorly-written plot-hole-ridden film to tell them.
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